IT'S A WANDA-FUL LIFE

WANDAVISION I Do not adjust your set. Scarlet Witch is back…

Across the finales of Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, a faint sense lingered that Wanda Maximoff remained curiously opaque to us and the characters on-screen. After all, this was a character hit by seismic losses: of her parents, brother, lover. When Thanos claimed to understand her pain, she hit back with, “You could never.” And although she reassured Hawkeye that Natasha Romanoff and Vision knew “we won” (“She knows – they both do”), did we know how Wanda felt behind the comforting words?

Well, as she said to Thanos, “You will.” In January, WandaVision will be the first psionic strike from Marvel Studios’ Disney+ series slate, preceding titles including The Falcon And The Winter Soldier, Loki, What If…?, Moon Knight and Ms. Marvel. And if MCU CCO Kevin Feige’s hint that we will see the full scope of her reality-bending powers holds up, Wanda’s promise to Thanos should extend to viewers, too.

But not before a few home comforts. Under showrunner Jac Schaeffer (co-writer on Black Widow) and director Matt Shakman (Game Of Thrones, The Boys), WandaVision initially assumes the form of a ’50s-style domestic sitcom. Despite his death, maroon man-droid Vision (Paul Bettany) is living the good life with Elizabeth Olsen’s Wanda in suburban Westview, partly created on the Warner Bros Ranch in Burbank, home to sitcoms including Bewitched. Episode one was shot in black-and-white before a live studio audience, with Vision painted blue so he looked peachy in monochrome.